Patent Application
20070259232
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
Please refer to
The fuel cell stack 2 includes an unreacted hydrogen outlet port 21, a cooling water outlet 22, an unreacted oxygen outlet port 23, and a cooling water inlet 24. Oxygen and hydrogen are supplied from the oxygen source 3 and the hydrogen source 4, respectively, into the fuel cell stack 2, and an electrochemical reaction occurs between the hydrogen and the oxygen in the fuel cell stack 2 to generate electricity and produce heat. The unreacted hydrogen and oxygen all bear reaction produced water thereon. The unreacted and water-bearing hydrogen and oxygen are discharged from the fuel cell stack 2 via the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 21 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 23, respectively.
The water collecting device 5 is connected to the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 21 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 23 of the fuel cell stack 2 via pipelines, and defines an inner space for containing a water absorbing material 51 therein, so as to absorb the produced water carried by the unreacted hydrogen and oxygen discharged from the fuel cell stack 2 via the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 21 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 23. The water collecting device 5 is also provided on side walls thereof with a plurality of air vents 52. The water absorbing material 51 in the water collecting device 5 may be generally known sponge or other suitable materials. The water absorbing material 51 is of a folded structure providing an increased water vaporizing area to enable quick vaporization of the reaction produced water absorbed by the water absorbing material 51. Depending on different application fields of the fuel cell stack 2, the folded structure of the water absorbing material 51 may be differently shaped to, for example, a corrugated structure, a zigzag fold structure, or a finned structure.
The cooling water system 6 includes a heat exchanger 61, a cooling water reservoir 62, and a cooling water pump 63. The heat exchanger 61 is connected to the cooling water outlet 22 of the fuel cell stack 2 via a pipeline for treating cooling water discharged from the fuel cell stack 1, so that heat produced by the fuel cell stack 2 is transferred to and dissipated from the heat exchanger 61. The heat exchanger 61 is externally provided at a position corresponding to the water collecting device 5 with a fan 611 for blowing the heat dissipated from the heat exchanger 61 through the air vents 52 into the water absorbing material 51 in the water collecting device 5, so that reaction produced water absorbed by the water absorbing material 51 is quickly blown dry.
The cooling water reservoir 62 stores the cooling water that has been treated at the heat exchanger 61. The cooling water stored in the cooling water reservoir 62 is then pumped by the cooling water pump 63 to flow through the cooling water inlet 24 into the fuel cell stack 2.
The fuel cell stack 7 includes a plurality of fuel cell units 71, a plurality of cooling plates 72, an unreacted hydrogen outlet port 73, and an unreacted oxygen outlet port 74. Electrochemical reaction occurs between the hydrogen and the oxygen in the fuel cell units 71 of the fuel cell stack 7 to generate electricity and produce heat, and unreacted hydrogen and oxygen. The unreacted hydrogen and oxygen all bear reaction produced water thereon. The unreacted and water-bearing hydrogen and oxygen are discharged from the fuel cell stack 7 via the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 73 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 74, respectively. The cooling plates 72 are provided with a plurality of parallelly arranged air passages.
The water collecting device 5 is arranged near an air outlet end 721 of the air passages of the fuel cell stack 7, and is connected to the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 73 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 74 via pipelines. The water collecting device 5 defines an inner space 50 for holding a water absorbing material 51 therein to absorb reaction produced water carried by the unreacted hydrogen and oxygen discharged from the fuel cell stack 7 via the unreacted hydrogen outlet port 73 and the unreacted oxygen outlet port 74. The water collecting device 5 is also provided on side walls with a plurality of air vents 52.
The water absorbing material 51 is of a folded structure. Depending on the application fields of the fuel cell stack 7, the folded structure of the water absorbing material 51 may be differently shaped to, for example, a corrugated structure, a zigzag fold structure, or a finned structure. Moreover, the water absorbing material 51 may be generally known sponge or other suitable materials.
The fan 8 is arranged near an air inlet end 722 of the air passages of the fuel cell stack 7 to supply airflow to the air passages, so that hot air produced during the electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell stack 7 is sent out of the fuel cell stack 7 from the air outlet end 721 of the air passage and blown toward the water collecting device 5 to blow dry the reaction produced water absorbed by the water absorbing material 51.
In the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, a water collecting device containing a water absorbing material is provided to collect reaction produced water discharged from the fuel cell stack, and a fan is provided to blow heat produced during the hydrogen/oxygen reaction in the fuel cell stack toward the water absorbing material in the water collecting device, so as to blow dry the reaction produced water absorbed by the water absorbing material. With these arrangements, water collected in the water collecting device is automatically blown dry without the need of emptying the collected water now and then.
In the illustrated embodiments of the present invention, the oxygen source and the hydrogen source are provided mainly to supply oxygen and hydrogen needed by the fuel cell stack. Any other known types of oxygen and hydrogen sources providing equivalent function and effect may also be employed in the present invention. For example, the oxygen source may be ambient air and a cooperative blower, or a high-pressure oxygen cylinder or tank; and the hydrogen source may be a high-pressure hydrogen cylinder or tank, or a hydrogen storage alloy.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95116148 | May 2006 | TW | national |
